My "glass" bowl melted in the microwave?

Question

I have(well, had) one of those big glass measuring bowls big enough for a mixer to fit in with a handle. I was making minute rice and had the rice and water in there and I put it in the microwave. I thought glass was generally microwave safe, but about the 4 minute mark we noticed something funny so we opened the microwave door and the handle of the bowl was entirely melted. We pulled it out, turntable and all to examine it. I'm positive it was glass because moments later, it shattered. Does glass normally melt in microwaves? Or are they adding some crazy plastics to the glass these days?

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

I don't know if it was glass or not... Probably not.

But, all glass is not safe for cooking in and heating rapidly anyway. What you want is Pyrex glass. You can buy measuring cups, mixing bowls, etc...

Karen L · Answer

That seems really bizarre. I can't see how that would happen with glass, especially after only 4 minutes in the microwave and with water and food in the bowl. The water is going to boil at 212F and until the water has boiled away, it would be hard for anything in contact with it to get much hotter. Glass melts at about 2600F. If the bowl was glass and got that hot, your rice would have vapourized, and the glass would have just about set fire to anything it came in contact with. I'd bet the microwave tray would have been far too hot for you to pick up without welder's gloves or a metal utensil and the interior of the microwave would be melting too. There may be plastics that would shatter in those conditions.

Anonymous · Answer

Melted Glass

Anonymous · Answer

I was using my microwave heating a tray of microwave food and you needed to pull back the film on a corner. Well I noticed the tray wasn't spinning so went in to turn the microwave tray to get back to proper place to spin and I touch the glass in a spot that looked like something had spilled which appeared to be clear liquid, turned out was melted glass! burned my finger tip and I put a gouge in the microwave glass spinning tray. I took it out to cool and it cracked around where I put my finger but glass was so hot it filled in all the cracks but left a gouge where my finger tip touched.Never had anything like this happen to me before. Don't know if my microwave is running too hot and if I should be using it or not. Luckily I still had my old microwave glass spinning tray and was only a tad smaller so using that and no problem as yet.

Anonymous · Answer

Yes, it can happen with glass. Unfortunately, the "new" PYREX is the most problematic.

I know someone that this happened to today when she was using a Pyrex measuring cup to melt wax for candle-making.

A huge hole melted in the side of the glass.

Madame Morticia · Answer

Never heard of that happening before, seems very strange.  If you want you can contact the company who made the bowl and let them know what happened, complain about their product and maybe they'll send you a new bowl or at least some coupons for money off other products (works for me, I do that all the time). 

Good luck.

babyphinster · Answer

Just happened to me tonight in a Pyrex bowl that i have used many times before in the microwave. I was making popcorn.

Backwoods Barbie · Answer

Obviously it wasn't microwave safe.=)

Anonymous · Answer

glass is microwave safe. that wasn't glass.

Mist64 · Answer

if it were glass then it would have cracked... it most likely was some other substance

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My "glass" bowl melted in the microwave?

11 Answers